ABSTRACT
Climate change may adversely affect various aspects of livestock production systems including animal health and productivity, fodder production, water availability, pest, and diseases. Water applied using these systems supports the growth of annual food crop rice and perennial fodders, yielding a cost-effective production system. The research was conducted to study the impact of irrigation methods (Furrow vs. Drip in Fodder crops, Flood irrigation vs. SRI system in Rice) on the productivity of Rice, Napier hybrid grass and Desmanthus nutritious fodder species in Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu. Alternate wetting and drying irrigation reported to save water compared with continuous flooding in rice cultivation. Water use efficiency indicated that the utilization of water for every kg of crop production and green fodder was reduced by introducing the SRI cultivation of rice and drip irrigation in green fodder cultivation. The water saving was 37.5% in the paddy field. Irrigation method impacted green biomass yield (higher with furrow irrigation) but both methods yielded similar dry biomass. Results revealed that the controlled application of water through drip irrigation is able to produce more quantity of green fodder, leading to more effective utilization and resource conservation of 36available land, fertilizer, and water. Higher productivity of these nutritional fodders resulted in higher milk productivity of livestock. The ability to grow fodder crops year-round with limited water and water efficient drip irrigation may greatly increase livestock productivity and, hence, the economic security of livestock farmers.
